As many of you facebook savvy people know, yesterday marked the momentous occasion of the first ever triple wedding of Los Anonos. It was a glorious event with three couples, their ten delightful children, and more rice than you could possibly imagine, the eating kind, not the throwing kind♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
How did we pull off such extravagant festivities? I'm glad you asked. Let's take a look back through time and see how it happened♥ ♥ ♥
♥ ♥ ♫.♫ Eleven years ago, Amilcar Antonio Perez Gonzales met Adriana Maria Guillen Solis ♥ ♥ and it was love at first sight ♥ ♥ Ten years ago, Gilberto Manuel Flores Calero met Meyling del Socorro Gonzales and they lived happily ever after ♥ ♥ Nine years ago, Alejandro Cesar Perez Gonzales met Verania del Carmen Aburto Narvaes and they felt that lovely sparkle of romance. ♫.♫♥ ♥ (Addendum: Alejandro, Amilcar, and Meyling are siblings...They are three of Doña Fransisca's children)
Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have gone THAT far back...So last year the girls, on their own through the work of the Holy Spirit, came to Rodney and told him that they wanted to be married. You see, they had each been living with their significant others for about a decade, and they all had several children with the same men, but they felt convicted that they weren't actually married to them. The ladies had a hunger and a desire in their hearts to work and serve more in the church, but they also secretly knew that something wasn't quite right in their lives. God is SO faithful. He softly whispered to each of their hearts, and to the hearts of their men, that He had something so much better for them than a live-in boyfriend/girlfriend and the constant threat that he/she would find some one else, some one different, some one new (we'd seen that over the last few years). ღ And so the wedding plans began!!ღ
God's faithful provision continues! Over the past few months, God has laid it on people's hearts to donate wedding gowns...in the event that they would be needed (re: the one-size-fits-all-wedding dress story last February!!). We had three wedding gowns donated last year and lovingly tucked into the closet in our front bedroom. So when the girls wanted to have a triple wedding, we were thrilled...of course skeptical, that the dresses would fit. HA! God provides!
Adriana cam to the house one day before work and we teased her that she should try on one of the dresses...She tried on the first one and no luck...She couldn't zip it all the way closed. Ok, we have another dress: try this on...and to our amazement, it fit PERFECT! No alterations needed. The next week we called Verania over to try on the other dress. Wouldn't you know it, PERFECT! Take it up about 2 and a 1/4 inches in the front and WOW! What a fit! Then came Meyling. We had one more dress. Unfortunately, that one didn't fit. But she went out and bought a dress she liked the week of the wedding. On the day of the wedding she was concerned it was too short and see through (it was a gauzy, cottony white dress. The flimsy kind. But we had an idea♥ ♥♥ ♥♥ ♥♥ ♥♥ ♥
One of the dresses had randomly come with a flouncy, skirt-type petticoat that wasn't needed for the other dresses. Cindy and I, when going through the dresses, had chalked it off to kind of weird since it didn't look like it went with any of the dresses. It was a different color and shorter and didn't work with any of the other dresses. I ran up to the house and grabbed it. Meyling was THRILLED she put it over the dress she had bought as an additional skirt and it was PERFECT! Cindy took it up to the house and sewed it to the front of the dress, added some embellishments and voila! A third perfect wedding dress.
The day of the wedding dawned (overcast and dreary). It did get sunnier throughout the day. Rodney and I bought flowers at the farmer's market. All this for $22!!!
We cleaned and decorated the Casa Nueva with flowers, balloons, white lights, and a white canopy. It was beautiful!
Time to get ready!!!!!!!!! Mercedes, Meyling's sister,
came in to help with hair and make-up.
We all took turns helping the three brides get ready. I even jumped in to French tip the girl's nails.
ღ♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.ღ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥ღ
The babies were glammin' it up, too.
ღ♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.ღ♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥ღ
Federico Villegas came to help translate the wedding. He and Rodney prepped the guys before the women made their grand entrance.
Rodney talked about commitment, communication, companionship, and servanthood. ღ♥ღ ♥ღ ♥ ღ♥ღ
♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥
These girls are SO precious!ღ
♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥
Each couple was married individually...Rodney lead them through their vows and the promises they made to each other. Then each couple lit a unity candle. Amilcar and Adriana were the only couple who could afford rings.
♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥
♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥
♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥
The three couples were presented for the first time to the church.
They also kissed for the first time as a married couple ♥ ♥ ♥ Chuuuu ღ ღ ღ
♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥
David is on the left....................................Doña Fransisca is on the right.
We spent lots of time just visiting and taking pictures!!!
Alejandro, Verania,
Nicol, Alexander, Antoni, Clyde, Joshua, and Genesis...The whole family!!
♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥
This is me with Carmen, one of Doña Fransisca's other daughters
♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥
Cake time!!!
Karla, Federico's wife, made the cake...
Half chocolate, half vanilla.
Each couple posed in front of the cake.
♥ ♥ ♥ The girls had a lot of fun!♥ ♥ ♥
Like I said, every girl deserves a pretty white dress for her wedding day. Regardless of the past, when she and her man decide to get married in the eyes of God, she deserves the most beautiful wedding possible.
♥ ♥ ♥For she is, after all, a princess♥ ♥ ♥
♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥♫.♫♥ ♥
Julie, that was a Wonderful narrative! Every woman loves details, and you gave them in spades. The last picture really shows the brides' joy, glamour and "Jimmy Choos". Praise the Lord for such a happy, godly day. Thanks for documenting it so well.
ReplyDeleteLove from
Lindsay's mom, Bev Jones